Foster's Grove alumni celebrate their beloved school

Rosetta Wilkins, left, reacts to seeing her classmate, Joanne Whiteside for the first time since they graduated from Foster's Grove High School in 1956.
Members of Foster's Grove High School held a class reunion at Foster's Grove Baptist Church on Saturday.

Last Modified: Saturday, August 30, 2014 at 11:18 p.m.

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Graduates spanning the school's operation — 1954 to 1970 — gathered Saturday at Foster's Grove Baptist Church. There were more than 140 in attendance.

Elbert Tillerson Sr. from the first graduating class welcomed people to the event.

Tillerson said the 60 years felt like six to him. But so much has changed in the interim — integration, the killings of so many to make that possible, several presidential and political changes, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Robert F. Kennedy

"It hasn't been easy, and life is not going to be easy," Tillerson told the crowd. "But when we look at those 60 years, there are so many things that we can think about."

"I'm happy as a baby boll weevil with a wad of cotton candy," Howard Dodd, from the class of 1959, told the crowd before he discussed the reason for the occasion.

Dodd said there were several reasons why former students attended the gathering, including parents and teachers who preached that education was vital.

"We are here because we accept what one sage person said, 'If you deny your heritage, you're doomed to relive it,'" he said.

They were also there to "celebrate the legacy" of those who defied and fought the system and were there for love of alma mater. He said teachers "nurtured" the students.

Tillerson said much happened between 1960 and 1970 — including the killings of civil rights leaders and African-American students.

"It was a struggle that they endured for us," he said.

Larry Briggs — known as "Little A.J." to classmates — was in the final class to graduate from Foster's Grove before remaining students were either assigned to Boiling Springs or Chesnee high schools. He was one of 10 siblings who attended the school.

He played first-string basketball and baseball. He remembered when other schools, particularly black schools, were surprised that Foster's Grove had a gym separate from the auditorium.

"They were just astounded," Briggs said.

He drove the school bus, worked in the kitchen and had a part-time job. It's important for him to remember the relationships. He likened it to family.

"It's like coming back home, essentially. It's like a brotherhood," Briggs said.

He said whole families attended the school. Even former students who did not graduate, return for reunions.

Briggs said he's been around the world more than three times through service in the Air Force and missed reunions but made it a point to attend Saturday's event now that he has moved back to Spartanburg County.

"It's just nice to come home. There's no place like home," he said.

Briggs said there were 60 to 70 in his class.

It was a nostalgic night for him as he traveled "down memory lane," seeing several classmates — some he had not seen in 44 years.

He made a lot of friends who he considers like family. He said Foster's Grove was a "family-oriented" school that provided a strong educational foundation for students.

Tillerson said students from high school in Inman and Chesnee came to Foster's Grove High School in August 1953 — four years before President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and more than a decade before President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"Things have changed. But sometimes we feel that we are in our comfort zone, and we forget about the struggles that took place. I went through it myself," he said.

There were few places where he could attend college, so he traveled 100 miles to attend college.

Today, he said, there are several institutions of higher learning available here in Spartanburg and open to all races.

Tillerson said African-American students began attending Boiling Springs and Chesnee high schools after integration and the closure of Foster's Grove.

Asked why it was important for him to perpetuate the memory of Foster's Grove High School, Tillerson responded, "It brings us together."

<p>More than 40 years since schools here integrated, graduates from Foster's Grove High School paid homage to their academic roots.</p><p>Graduates spanning the school's operation — 1954 to 1970 — gathered Saturday at Foster's Grove Baptist Church. There were more than 140 in attendance.</p><p>Elbert Tillerson Sr. from the first graduating class welcomed people to the event.</p><p>Tillerson said the 60 years felt like six to him. But so much has changed in the interim — integration, the killings of so many to make that possible, several presidential and political changes, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Robert F. Kennedy</p><p>"It hasn't been easy, and life is not going to be easy," Tillerson told the crowd. "But when we look at those 60 years, there are so many things that we can think about."</p><p>"I'm happy as a baby boll weevil with a wad of cotton candy," Howard Dodd, from the class of 1959, told the crowd before he discussed the reason for the occasion.</p><p>Dodd said there were several reasons why former students attended the gathering, including parents and teachers who preached that education was vital. </p><p>"We are here because we accept what one sage person said, 'If you deny your heritage, you're doomed to relive it,'" he said.</p><p>They were also there to "celebrate the legacy" of those who defied and fought the system and were there for love of alma mater. He said teachers "nurtured" the students.</p><p>Tillerson said much happened between 1960 and 1970 — including the killings of civil rights leaders and African-American students.</p><p>"It was a struggle that they endured for us," he said.</p><p>Larry Briggs — known as "Little A.J." to classmates — was in the final class to graduate from Foster's Grove before remaining students were either assigned to Boiling Springs or Chesnee high schools. He was one of 10 siblings who attended the school.</p><p>He played first-string basketball and baseball. He remembered when other schools, particularly black schools, were surprised that Foster's Grove had a gym separate from the auditorium.</p><p>"They were just astounded," Briggs said.</p><p>He drove the school bus, worked in the kitchen and had a part-time job. It's important for him to remember the relationships. He likened it to family. </p><p>"It's like coming back home, essentially. It's like a brotherhood," Briggs said.</p><p>He said whole families attended the school. Even former students who did not graduate, return for reunions.</p><p>Briggs said he's been around the world more than three times through service in the Air Force and missed reunions but made it a point to attend Saturday's event now that he has moved back to Spartanburg County.</p><p>"It's just nice to come home. There's no place like home," he said.</p><p>Briggs said there were 60 to 70 in his class.</p><p>It was a nostalgic night for him as he traveled "down memory lane," seeing several classmates — some he had not seen in 44 years.</p><p>He made a lot of friends who he considers like family. He said Foster's Grove was a "family-oriented" school that provided a strong educational foundation for students.</p><p>Tillerson said students from high school in Inman and Chesnee came to Foster's Grove High School in August 1953 — four years before President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and more than a decade before President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.</p><p>"Things have changed. But sometimes we feel that we are in our comfort zone, and we forget about the struggles that took place. I went through it myself," he said.</p><p>There were few places where he could attend college, so he traveled 100 miles to attend college.</p><p>Today, he said, there are several institutions of higher learning available here in Spartanburg and open to all races.</p><p>Tillerson said African-American students began attending Boiling Springs and Chesnee high schools after integration and the closure of Foster's Grove. </p><p>Asked why it was important for him to perpetuate the memory of Foster's Grove High School, Tillerson responded, "It brings us together."</p><p>Tillerson said students and teachers worked together.</p><p>"We cared about one another," he said.</p><p>The words of the shuttered school's alma mater perhaps say it best:</p><p>"Sunshine radiates there, smiles are met everywhere … Sing! Foster's High, keep school thoughts ever nigh/ Love her, honor her, let her name never die,/Praise her, laud her, ever to the sky."</p><p></p><p></p><p><hr /></p><p><b>More from Kim Kimzey: </b> <a href= https://twitter.com/KimKimzeySHJ > Twitter </a> | <a href= http://www.goupstate.com/personalia/10199 >Articles</a></p>